“The work of Rä di Martino often deals with the duality between reality and fiction. The artist’s background in theatre and her passion for film emerge in her video work, which is often cinematographic in theme and experimental in nature. However, for some of her most recent works, she has switched medium from video to photography, exploring a different kind of imagery. Enticed by abandoned Hollywood sets in North Africa, di Martino’s travels in Morocco and Tunisia resulted in a profound engagement with these contemporary ruins. Ranging from basic dwellings to elaborate temples, these sets formed part of the fictional habitat of film characters, today however their ruins appear to substantiate the history of inhabitants that never existed.

Gazing at the remains of the familiar Star Wars set in her series ‘Every World is a Stage’ triggers a sense of mild discomfort, as the delusionary power of the human imagination is realised. A film that has been capable of projecting us into the distant future has ironically left behind ruins that look as ancient as any imperial palace or historical edifice. Only by coming closer, and knocking on the structures’ walls, does the onlooker realise that these walls are made of plywood and plaster. Born in Rome and residing in Turin, New York and London, di Martino’s interest in Luke Skywalker’s house, portrayed in the series ‘No More Stars (Star Wars)’, currently shown in the Tate Modern’s exhibition ‘Ruins in Reverse’, is born of the artist’s longing for a home of her own.” — Sumarrialunn

When Dave Nezzie met his future wife, Amanda, they quickly fell in love over a galaxy far, far away.

“I think that was one of the first things that bonded Dave and I together, was our love for Star Wars,” says Amanda Nezzie. “Our children have also caught the Star Wars bug.”

The family lives in Albuquerque, N.M., and one of the biggest struggles they’ve had living off the reservation is teaching Dave’s native Navajo language to their kids.

“Rosetta Stone has something, there’s an app on the iPad, and having alternatives is what we need,” says Dave. “Having more resources available will help us teach the language to more people.”

Enter Star Wars.

On July 3, the 1977 movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope will premiere dubbed in Navajo. It’s the first time a major motion picture has been translated into a Native American language.

Manuelito Wheeler, director of the Navajo Nation Museum, got the ball rolling. He approached the Navajo Nation and Lucasfilm, and the project took off from there.

“This was an idea that I felt was a way to promote our culture, promote our language, a way to save our language,” says Wheeler. “There are definitely Star Wars nerds out there who can repeat that movie verbatim, and they speak no Navajo. And so when they’re watching this and it’s in Navajo, it’s them learning Navajo.”

For the last few years a Father’s Day tradition in my house has been for this old man to eat the apple pie made for him by his daughters and to watch the original Star Wars from 1977, which I first saw on my 12th birthday that same year. No Episode IV. No New Hope. No Jabba the Hut scene. No CGI banthas. And…no Greedo shooting first.

As a Star Wars fan and a film buff, this side by side is fascinating.

Update: My daughter topped the apple pie with no bake cookies. I may need a new pancreas.

Subject: Star Wars names (fwd)
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 10:40:24 -0700 (PDT)
How to determine your "Star Wars" name:
For your new first name:
1. Take the first 3 letters of your 1st name and add
2. the first 2 letters of your last name
For your new last name:
3. Then take the first 2 letters of your Mom's maiden name and add
4. the first 3 letters of the city you were born
How to determine your Star Wars honorific name and title:
1. take the last three letters of your last name and reverse them.
2. add the name of the first car you drove/owned
3. insert the word "of"
4. tack on the name of the last medication you took.
Have fun,
Glagu Goman,
Otndatsun of Aleve